When it comes to creating the perfect presentation, it can be daunting to find the right starting point to work from.
Whether it be the best way to present your message or the perfect way to conduct yourself in front of the audience, this article will give you easy-to-implement tips to make a good presentation.
Obstacles When Presenting
No matter if you’re delivering your first presentation or if you’re a seasoned professional, talking directly to an audience can feel daunting.
Here are some difficulties you may come across in your presentation:
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Uncertainty of the content or message of the presentation
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Fear of public speaking
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Unfamiliarity with the topics brought up in the presentation
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Worries about grabbing the attention of your audience
All the above points will be discussed throughout this article. By following our tips, if you encounter any of these problems, they can be addressed easily and efficiently.
Preparing an Effective Presentation
For a great presentation, it is important to prepare effectively. Though this process may differ between presentations due to the material included in them, the general overview should be similar.
Check the Content of your Presentation
The first thing to do is to check the presentation's content. Ask yourself the following questions:
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Are the facts all correct?
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Is the information written in an appropriate way for your audience?
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Does the presentation cover all the points you have planned to cover?
By doing this process of checking over the content, you are also familiarising yourself with the presentation itself.
Practise Your Presentation
Next, practise.
Having a practice run of your presentation will help you get a better feel for presenting the material and it will allow you to get feedback from your peers.
Know How To Carry Yourself
Finally, work on your stage presence. Making eye contact with your audience, gesturing at the correct points, and ensuring you’re facing the audience are all very simple ways to appear more confident.
Mix this with your charisma and people skills and your stage presence should be impeccable.
Be Aware of Your Audience, No Matter Where They Are Viewing From
With hybrid capabilities available across all Make Venues sites, we know what it takes to deliver a good presentation to both live and virtual audiences. Make sure you’re tailoring your content to both types of attendees. Familiarise yourself with the tech at hand, or ask the AV specialists to assist you.
The 10-20-30 Rule
This rule was realised by Guy Kawasaki, initially to help marketers present their PowerPoint presentations more clearly.
The 10-20-30 rule is as follows: don’t use more than 10 slides, no more than 20 minutes and use fonts no smaller than 30 point size.
Obviously, this rule isn’t going to apply to every presentation, as some are naturally longer than others. But it’s a good guide to follow when trying to keep your presentation shorter and more engaging.
5 Simple But Effective Tips For Your Presentation
Whether it be grabbing the attention of the audience or properly delivering the message of your talk, getting your presentation right can be hard.
The following tips should help you with delivering an unforgettable presentation that you can be proud of.
Tip #1 Start Your Presentation Right
Psychology tells us that it takes seven seconds for someone to make a first impression.
This means that when you are in front of a crowd, it's important to make a good first impression for both yourself and the product or company you represent.
Your body language, the projection of your voice and the type of language you use are all factors that can influence someone's first impression of you.
Make sure to clearly introduce yourself, the goals of the presentation and the company you are representing. Making this introduction clear and concise will engage your audience from the beginning.
Tip #2 Focus On Your Audience
When it comes to a presentation, the most important part of the whole presentation will always be your audience. The content of your presentation should be catered to their level of understanding.
The presentation should have the audience engaged. As the presenter, you should be able to keep them focused on the main point of the presentation.
Tip #3 Catch The Audience’s Attention
While the presentation of yourself is vastly significant, there are other points to bear in mind.
Factors such as a cohesive colour scheme and design throughout the presentation or appropriate use of images and infographics are also defining factors for good presentations.
The main thing to remember for any aesthetic choices is to make sure it's all relevant. The pictures you include should relate to the topic you’re presenting. If there is no relevance to your aesthetic choices, then the message you are trying to get across may get lost.
Tip #4 Keep The Message Concise
You should always make sure that your presentation delivers the message it's supposed to. As soon as the content gets away from you, the overall message will get lost.
Keeping the content concise and straightforward will help keep the motive of the talk clear to the audience.
Tip #5 Finish Your Presentation The Right Way
At the conclusion of your presentation, you should find a way to round off the full presentation, either by giving a final statement or an overall comment on what was discussed during the session.
Once this is done, you should use what time you have left to take questions from the audience or address any points of concern that may have been raised throughout the presentation.
Signing off your presentation properly will leave your audience with the best mindset coming out of the session.
What Not To Do When Presenting
It is useful to note that there are certain factors that may make your presentation appear unprofessional or unprepared.
These are some things to keep in mind for your next presentation:
An Overuse of Notes
Looking at notes once or twice is okay but if you’re reading from a script it may appear that you are unprepared.
Checking Your Graphs and Statistics
Using a detailed graph or specific statistic is a great way to make your presentation look professional, however, this is only true if the information you use is correct.
An Unfamiliarity with the Material
If you’re having to read the slides word-for-word or you can’t answer any of the questions throughout the session, that could be a problem.
The audience will assume this isn't a topic you have knowledge in. This may make the presentation less reliable to your audience.
An Incohesive Presentation
From colour scheme to the language structure, if the presentation doesn’t flow as one piece of information, then it will be difficult for listeners to digest it properly.
Host Your Meeting With Make Venues
Need a meeting room for your next presentation? Make Venues has you covered. Pick from our Leamington Spa, Bristol and London venues, all fitted with high-quality conference rooms and meeting rooms. Perfect for presentations.
Contact our team on 0808 168 5876, or get in touch by filling out an enquiry form to get more information on room pricing.